MRM EXCLUSIVE: Restaurants’ Lockdown Lessons Are Key to Coping with Soaring Costs

Restaurants must keep innovating to elevate the diner experience.It’s a tough time to be in the restaurant business. Food prices are soaring amidst supply chain disruptions, increasing labor costs, and processing plant shutdowns. Poultry prices are up 15 percent to 18 percent; the cost of eggs has risen 73 percent. The food service industry is scrambling to keep up with these new costs, pushing the price of a restaurant meal to a 40-year high. At the same time, Americans are facing a cost-of-living crisis and consumer price inflation, leaving them with far less disposable income.

In other words: restaurants are facing higher operating costs — and are raising prices — at exactly the time when diners are least able to pay more. While increasing grocery costs could lead some consumers to eat out instead, it’s clear that restaurants need to do more to justify higher prices and improve the customer experience.

Fortunately, today’s restaurateurs have a playbook that can…